Israeli Bill to Outlaw the Word Nazi Sparks Ire

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Israeli Bill to Outlaw the Word Nazi Sparks Ire
JERUSALEM January 17, 2014 (AP)
By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press

An Israeli draft law that would criminalize the use of the word Nazi in most cases has sparked a debate on freedom of speech in a state that was founded out of the ashes of the Holocaust.

Seven decades later, memories of the extermination of millions of Jews during World War II permeate virtually every aspect of life in Israel. Public figures and interest groups frequently invoke the World War II genocide to score political points, and the word and Nazi symbols have slipped into Israeli discourse over the years.

The bill would impose a fine of 100,000 shekels (nearly $29,000) and six months in jail for anybody using the word or symbols from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich in a "wrong or inappropriate way." Educational settings or artistic performances would be exempt.

The Knesset gave preliminary approval to the measure on Wednesday, but it still must pass three more readings and committee discussions before becoming law. A similar effort in 2012 fell in committee amid opposition.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israeli-bill-outlaw-word-nazi-sparks-ire-21567881

[Indi Guy]

1. I guess it will be up to their version of the thought police to decide who's using the symbols...

...in a "wrong or inappropriate way."

[Nanjing to Seoul]

2. Hmmm. . .on one hand, everyone has the right to be an ignorant, bigoted asshole

On the other hand, Germany did the same thing when they outlawed the Nazi Party.

[JDPriestly]

3. What a ridiculous idea!

[alp227]

4. the Israeli govt has been trying this for years

as Haaretz reported back in 2012

The bill passed Knesset in a 44-17 vote on Wednesday.

[Behind the Aegis]

5. It will likely fail again. If not, the Israeli Supreme Court will address it.

It is a bad bill. It will turn some people on their heads, especially if they bother reading the entire article.

[dipsydoodle]

6. It does however refer to context.

"using the word or symbols from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich in a "wrong or inappropriate way." and "Educational settings or artistic performances would be exempt".

So for example someone saying that the swastika was a symbol used by the Nazis would be an appropriate use by stating an accurate fact.

[Alamuti Lotus]

7. it will be interesting to see how Israeli politicians will construct "artistic performances"...

...whenever they speak about Iran:--is there a policy speech made on the subject where the Holocaust and/or Hitler are not invoked? The tightrope walking would be worth the erstwhile ridiculousness of the proposal.

[go west young man]

8. Hitler would have been proud of them at this point.

It carries the same amount of irony as Bin Ladens effect on the US. The assholes didn't need to do anything to the victims. The victims are stupid enough to do it to themselves.

[bossy22]

9. Hopefully it goes nowhere

Free speech is the freedom to broadcast an idea publicly no matter how disgusting or silly it might be (as long as it does not directly encourage specific acts of violence). This is just another example of "hate speech" legislation aka censorship-lite.

[Jesus Malverde]

10. Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies

Godwin's law (also known as Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies or Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies) is an assertion made by Mike Godwin in 1990 that has become an Internet adage. It states: "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." In other words, Godwin said that, given enough time, in any online discussion—regardless of topic or scope—someone inevitably makes a comparison to Hitler or the Nazis.

Although in one of its early forms Godwin's law referred specifically to Usenet newsgroup discussions,[4] the law is now often applied to any threaded online discussion, such as forums, chat rooms and blog comment threads, and has been invoked for the inappropriate use of Nazi analogies in articles or speeches.

In 2012, "Godwin's Law" became an entry in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. I can NOT SEE a problem with that.

[Tom Ripley]

12. "No soup for you!"

[Matariki]

13. But - the Internet?